Poinsettia plant named ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Poinsettia  plant named ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’, characterized by its upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and uniformly mounding plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; moderately strong lateral branches; relatively early flowering habit; inflorescences with white-colored flower bracts; and excellent post-production longevity.

Botanical designation: Euphorbia hybrida (Euphorbia pulcherrima X Euphorbia cornastra).

Cultivar denomination: ‘DOPOINJADWHIPE’.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION AND STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR AND APPLICANT

This application claims priority to a European Community Plant Breeders' Rights application filed on Feb. 26, 2020, application number 2020/0593. There have been no offers for sale anywhere in the world prior to the effective filing date of this Application and no accessibility to one of ordinary skill in the art could have been derived from the printed Plant Breeder's Rights documents.

The Inventor/Applicant asserts that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor. Applicant claims a prior art exemption under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’.

The new Poinsettia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create moderately vigorous Poinsettia plants with strong lateral branches and attractive flower bract coloration.

The new Poinsettia plant is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of Euphorbia hybrida ‘Duepojadopin’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,919. The new Poinsettia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant from within a population of plants of ‘Duepojadopin’ in a controlled greenhouse environment in Rheinberg, Germany in December, 2019.

Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia plant by terminal vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Rheinberg, Germany since January, 2020 has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Poinsettia have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’ as a new and distinct Poinsettia plant:

-   -   1. Upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and uniformly         mounding plant habit.     -   2. Moderately vigorous growth habit.     -   3. Moderately strong lateral branches.     -   4. Relatively early flowering habit.     -   5. Inflorescences with white-colored flower bracts.     -   6. Excellent post-production longevity.

Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the mutation parent, ‘Duepojadopin’, in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Poinsettia are more compact than and not as         vigorous as plants of ‘Duepojadopin’.     -   2. Plants of the new Poinsettia have white-colored flower bracts         whereas plants of ‘Duepojadopin’ have pink-colored flower         bracts.

Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch X Euphorbia cornastra ‘Bonpri 974’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,689. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of ‘Bonpri 974’ in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Poinsettia are larger than plants of         ‘Bonpri 974’.     -   2. Plants of the new Poinsettia have longer lateral branches         than plants of ‘Bonpri 974’.     -   3. Branching habit of plants of the new Poinsettia is more         upright than branching habit of plants of ‘Bonpri 974’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying photograph illustrates the overall appearance of the new Poinsettia plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Poinsettia plant. The photograph is a side perspective views of a typical flowering plant of ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’ grown in a container.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photograph and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Rheinberg, Germany during the summer and autumn in 13-cm containers in a glass-covered greenhouse and under cultural practices typical of commercial Poinsettia production. During the production of the plants, day and night temperatures averaged 18° C. and light levels averaged 4,500 lux. Single plants were grown in 13-cm containers and were pinched one time about three weeks after planting the rooted young plants. Plants were 23 weeks old when the photograph and the detailed description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to Pantone Color Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Euphorbia hybrida ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’. -   Parentage: Naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of Euphorbia     hybrida ‘Duepojadopin’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,919. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—Terminal vegetative cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots, summer.—About five days at             temperatures about 20° C.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About seven days at             temperatures about 20° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About three             weeks at temperatures about 20° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About four             weeks at temperatures about 20° C.         -   Root description.—Fine, fibrous; typically white in color,             actual color of the roots is dependent on substrate             composition, water quality, fertilizers, substrate             temperature and age of roots.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; dense. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant and growth habit.—Uniform, upright and mounded plant             habit; inverted triangle; large inflorescences with numerous             flower bracts positioned above the foliar plane; moderately             vigorous growth habit.         -   Plant height.—About 23 cm.         -   Plant diameter or spread.—About 34.5 cm.         -   Lateral branch description.—Quantity: Freely branching habit             with lateral branches potentially developing at every node             after pinching; upright branching habit. Length: About             17.5 cm. Diameter: About 3 mm. Internode length: About             1.5 cm. Strength: Moderately strong. Texture: Smooth,             glabrous. Luster: Moderately glossy. Color: Close to 137A.         -   Leaf description.—Arrangement: Alternate, simple. Length:             About 8.7 cm. Width: About 4.4 cm. Shape: Ovate. Apex:             Apiculate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Irregularly lobed; slightly             undulate. Aspect: Horizontal to drooping; keeled. Texture,             upper surface: Smooth, glabrous. Texture, lower surface:             Rugose, glabrous; prominent venation. Luster, upper and             lower surfaces: Matte. Venation pattern: Pinnate, arcuate.             Color: Developing leaves, upper surface: Close to 137A.             Developing leaves, lower surface: Close to 138A. Fully             developed leaves, upper surface: Close to 139A; venation,             close to 146A. Fully developed leaves, lower surface: Close             to 137A to 137B; venation, close to 146B to 146C. Leaf             petioles: Length: About 4.1 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm.             Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Luster,             upper and lower surfaces: Matte. Color, upper surface: Close             to 141C. Color, lower surface: Close to 141D. -   Inflorescence description:     -   -   Inflorescence type and habit.—Terminal inflorescences are             compound corymbs of cyathia with numerous colored flower             bracts subtending the cyathia; inflorescences uniformly             positioned above the foliar plane.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants             typically flower in October and November; under artificial             long nyctoperiod/short photoperiod conditions, plants flower             about eight weeks later.         -   Post-production longevity.—Good post-production longevity;             plants of the new Poinsettia maintain good substance and             flower bract color for about five to twelve weeks under             interior conditions; flower bracts persistent and cyathia             not persistent.         -   Inflorescence diameter, without flower bracts.—About 1.7 cm.         -   Inflorescence height, without flower bracts.—About 2 cm.         -   Flower bracts.—Quantity per inflorescence: Numerous,             about 14. Length, largest bracts: About 8.4 cm. Width,             largest bracts: About 3.9 cm. Shape: Ovate. Apex: Apiculate.             Base: Obtuse. Margin: Irregular lobing. Aspect: Flat,             horizontal; keeled. Texture, upper surfaces: Smooth,             glabrous. Texture, lower surface: Rugose, glabrous;             prominent venation. Luster, upper and lower surfaces: Matte.             Venation pattern: Pinnate, arcuate. Color: Developing             bracts, upper surface: Close to N155D. Developing bracts,             lower surface: Close to 155C. Fully developed bracts, upper             and lower surfaces: Close to 155C; venation, close to 155C.             Bract petioles: Length: About 2 cm. Diameter: About 1 mm.             Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color,             upper surface: Close to 186D. Color, lower surface: Close to             141D.         -   Cyathia.—Quantity per corymb: About eight. Length: About             8 mm. Width: About 6 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Texture: Smooth,             glabrous. Color: When developing, inner surface: Close to             143C. When developing, outer surface: Close to 143B. Fully             developed, inner surface: Close to 143B. Fully developed,             outer surface: Close to 143B to 143C.         -   Nectaries.—Quantity per cyathium: One. Length: About 4 mm.             Width: About 1 mm. Shape: Oval. Texture: Smooth, glabrous.             Color: When developing and fully developed, inner surface:             Close to 17A. When developing and fully developed, outer             surface: Close to 17C.         -   Peduncles.—Length: About 4 mm. Diameter: About 1 mm.             Strength: Strong. Aspect: Incurved. Texture: Smooth,             glabrous. Color: Close to 143C.         -   Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity per cyathium:             About 20. Filament length: About 7 mm. Filament color: Close             to 53A. Anther shape: Oval. Anther length: About 0.5 mm.             Anther color: Close to 187A to 187B. Amount of pollen:             Abundant. Pollen color: Close to 9A. Pistils: Quantity per             cyathium: One; tri-parted. Pistil length: About 1 cm. Stigma             shape: Crested. Stigma color: Close to 59A to 59B. Style             length: About 2 mm. Style color: Close to 144B. Ovary color:             Close to 144A. Fruits & seeds: To date, fruit and seed             development has not been observed on plants of the new             Poinsettia. -   Pathogen & pest resistance: Plants of the new Poinsettia have not     been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to     Poinsettia plants to date. -   Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Poinsettia have been     observed to tolerate temperatures ranging from about 12° C. to about     40° C. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Poinsettia plant named ‘Dopoinjadwhipe’ as illustrated and described. 